


No Fear Now That I Know The Way

by maelstromdeparture



Series: On the Right Road [16]
Category: GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Brothers, Bruises, Discrimination, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Hybrids, Mentioned Mark Tuan, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Sickfic, i didn't even intend to write a coffee shop au but technically this is one?, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25987294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maelstromdeparture/pseuds/maelstromdeparture
Summary: Seokjin hadn't expected his life to take such an interesting turn. He was just the owner of the small cafe and was happy with that. A young and hurt bunny hybrid almost dying on his doorstep changed everything and Seokjin ended up not only finding a home for both himself and the boy, but some how they had both found their places in this world along the way, pulling in a young bookstore owner, a newly graduated hybrid doctor, and an idol trainee and the group only grew from there.
Series: On the Right Road [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1723291
Comments: 30
Kudos: 87





	1. It's 1am and I'm Too Tired To Think of a Chapter Title so here you go. Jungkook's a bunny Seokjin owns a coffee shop. Namjoon's a doctor and Taeyung exists.

**Author's Note:**

> this is unedited because i'm lazy i'm only mostly sorry. it will be edited eventually i promise, i'll get to it. 
> 
> this also got way longer than i was expecting it too, so it is the only one in this series so far with two chapters!!! yay! 
> 
> i almost split it into two fics but thought it worked better like this 
> 
> also this takes place alongside Sit in the Sunshine in the timeline of the universe. Jin adopts Jungkook about the same time Chan adopts Jisung but neither meet each other until after this fic is finished by like a year. however it does run parallel to Sit in the Sunshine because that fic spans a much longer time span than this one does
> 
> WARNINGS!!!!! (very important i love you all pls don't read something that will cause you harm<3)  
> \- past abuse  
> \- past rape  
> \- explicitly stated bruising that is explicitly stated to be from someone being choked  
> \- no actual choking  
> \- bruising on limbs that is directly implied to be finger prints and a result of rape  
> \- no actual rape (again i don't do the sex writing and i really don't do anything graphic so rape is totally off the table. you don't need to worry about that in my fics, but it is strongly and directly implied to have happened)  
> \- implied/referenced starving
> 
> Disclaimer!!!  
> This fic contains medical inaccuracies in both physical and mental health including reactions to trauma because your girl is studying english if you want real medical depiction i'm sorry. i took liberties because i don't know what i'm doing. the nice thing is, this is a hybrid au so i can chalk it up to that 
> 
> i may have spelled BamBam's name with and without the second B capitalized so there's also that? is the second B supposed to be capitalized or not?
> 
> and i realize that i did state what the name of Jin's cafe/coffee shop/bakery is...this does not in anyway mean that it will not be continued to be wrongly referenced by various names throughout the rest of the series i'm sorry to get your hopes up. i am unfortunately not that consistent and also find it very entertaining
> 
> i think that's everything important! so enjoy! :)  
> oh and of course if there's something you think needs a warning pls let me know so i can fix it :) thx!
> 
> ******this is now edited!!! yay! :)

Seokjin had taken over the café from the previous owner only a year ago. He had loved Mrs. Choi who had owned it originally and she had given it to him when she retired, knowing he had ambitions to make it bigger than just coffee. He had followed through on that and had cycled through a variety of employees in the past year trying to find people that would be good at their jobs and loyal. There were a couple left over from before but they were both students and were planning to leave soon, so Seokjin needed to figure out how to streamline the hiring process so he could pick out who would be good during interviews. The regular customers had complained that Seokjin hadn’t changed the name of the place when he bought it but signs and logos cost money and Seokjin had wanted to be sure he could fund that kind of a change and when he had determined that he could he’d had some of the regulars make a variety of suggestions, though so far he didn’t like any of them. There was a dry erase board up on the wall at the moment with all the suggestions and people’s votes underneath them. They had more regulars start coming by when he took over as well, the wider variety of foods bringing people in. Seokjin’s favorite regular was a late night regular who came in either right before they closed or right as they opened every morning, looking like he hadn’t slept a wink and always dragging his laptop and his thick schoolbooks with him. He was always friendly to Seokjin when he came in, no matter the time of night, and he helped Seokjin fix the wifi and the register system when they both stopped working. He had offered to help fix the label machine and the espresso machines the time they stopped but Seokjin had watched him break one of the bookcases once and didn’t want him anywhere near either one. The other people in the neighborhood were nice overall, but Namjoon was the best. No matter how busy or stressed he was he always had time to put aside his books and talk to Seokjin, often his favorite topic of conversation was to relay whatever adventure he had with his roommate that morning. Seokjin had yet to meet Taehyung, who Namjoon insisted was his little brother in every way but blood, but from what he had heard from Namjoon, Taehyung sounded like a riot and Seokjin hoped he would get to meet him sometime. Apparently despite his adventures and personality Taehyung was a bit of a homebody and didn’t particularly enjoy being out and around strangers, so Seokjin didn’t anticipate getting to meet him anytime soon. Seokjin wasn’t quite sure what the story with Namjoon and Taehyung was, other than that they were very close friends and roommates, because Namjoon claimed Taehyung wasn’t a student, but Taehyung was also apparently pretty young so however he had ended up living with Namjoon instead of his family was probably not good and pretty private. Which mostly just meant Seokjin always wanted to know he was doing okay and it was often one of the first things he asked Namjoon after did you eat and how much did you sleep last night. Namjoon was also passionate about hybrid medicine and rights and revolutionary studies in the science of hybrids. Which meant when Seokjin suddenly ended up with a tiny young bunny hybrid on his hands, Namjoon was the first and only person he called.

The downsides of owning a coffee shop/bakery was that Seokjin had found himself getting in the habit of waking up stupidly early to get the pastries for the breakfast rush ready. He hadn’t found employees yet that he was willing or able to delegate that particular job to. The upside of it was that the buildings in this neighborhood all had apartments above the store fronts so Seokjin only had to walk down the stairs to get the pastries going and then could head back upstairs to get ready for the day before coming down again to actually open up the shop. It was sort of nice in a way, the world was silent before dawn, no one willing to be up and about other than Seokjin. Which meant it terrified him to his core when he heard a thump and whimpering from outside the back of the building, where the trash bin was. He shoved the last of the pastries in the oven to cook and grabbed one of the knives and headed over to peer through the window. He didn’t want to call the cops if it was nothing. There was a tiny person huddled in a ball on the ground. All Seokjin could make out in the dark was bare feet and worn out jeans that didn’t fit the person at all. He carefully opened the door.

“Hello?” he asked. “Are you alright?” The person didn’t move didn’t even twitch. Seokjin left the door opened and stepped further out of the building looking around trying to see if maybe he had been attacked. It was empty and silent around them so he hurried over to the person to make sure they were alive.

“Hey, I’m going to roll you onto your back if you can hear me,” said Seokjin and when there was no response he quickly and carefully shifted the person onto their back. It was a young boy, he was so thin Seokjin was sure he would be able to count his ribs, his eyes were closed and there were large bunny ears that were tangled under his head. Seokjin winced and quickly pulled them so they weren’t being laid on and then hurried to check for a pulse. The boy’s wrists were tiny and bony and he definitely wasn’t anywhere near a healthy weight and his skin was sticky with sweat. It had been the hottest summer in several years so it made sense that the boy was hot, the thin tank top he wore was torn and sticking to him in the heat. His face was flushed and Seokjin was willing to bet he had passed out from dehydration. He carefully scooped the boy up into his arms. There wasn’t a clinic that would be open this time of day and Seoul Hybrid Hospital wouldn’t be either and probably wouldn’t bother to do anything for a bunny hybrid anyway, so Seokjin would have to try and help him on his own. He carefully settled the boy on the floor of the kitchen right up against the freezer, hoping the cool air filtering out would help cool him down. His next step was to lock the back door again and then run upstairs to find water bottles and ice packs. When he returned the boy was still exactly as he left him so he carefully started putting the ice packs on his elbows and behind his knees and one laying against the back of his neck.

“Come on, wake up,” muttered Seokjin, “you’ve gotta wake up. I can’t get any water into you if you don’t wake up.” The boy’s eye lids fluttered slightly but he didn’t move at all and they didn’t open.

“Fuck,” muttered Seokjin, “what do I do? Putting him in the freezer seems like a terrible idea but…” He shook his head. No, he wasn’t going to stick the boy in the freezer, it might do nothing but make it worse or send his body into shock from going between the temperature extremes. He needed a medical professional. And then it hit him and he bolted up to his feet and hurried to the front of the store grabbing the phone and a sticky note he had stuck to the wall of the office and ran back to the kitchen again dialing the number.

“Kim household, this is Taehyung speaking, how can I help you?” answered someone sounding groggy and half awake.

“Hi, Taehyung-ssi, this is Seokjin from the coffee shop, I really need to talk to Namjoon-ah, please tell me he’s home,” said Seokjin.

“Yeah, he’s actually fallen asleep on his books, is this an emergency?” asked Taehyung. “I mean I’m assuming it is since it’s stupid o’clock in the morning and you’re calling, but if it’s not I’d really rather not wake him up.”

“It’s an emergency. I really need his help and I don’t know what else to do,” said Seokjin crouching back down to check the boy’s pulse again.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” asked Taehyung and Seokjin could hear him hurrying through his apartment, probably to get to wherever Namjoon was.

“I’m fine and no, but I need someone with hybrid medical knowledge and there’s nothing open and I may have found a kid passed out in the alley and I don’t know what to do,” said Seokjin starting to feel a little frantic. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to be hurt or dead because Seokjin couldn’t help him.

“Wait really?” asked Taehyung surprised. “Right. Hang on. I’ve got him. Joon-hyung, Seokjin-ssi’s got a hybrid medical emergency and needs your help.”

“Seokjin-hyung?” asked Namjoon coming onto the phone. “We’re on our way there. What happened?”

“There was a thump in the back by where the dumpster is and I went to go look and there was a boy. He can’t be more than thirteen, he’s completely passed out. He looks like he’s been outside on his own for a while. He’s very hot to the touch and I can’t get him to wake up at all. I’m trying to cool him down, but I can’t get any water in him if he’s not awake enough to drink it,” said Seokjin. “I could put him in the freezer but that seems like a bad idea.”

“Yeah, don’t do that,” said Namjoon nodding. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. He won’t react to you at all?”

“Not at all,” said Seokjin.

“Lay him on his back and elevate his feet,” said Namjoon, “do you have towels you could get wet with cold water?”

“Yeah. I’ve got icepacks on his elbows and behind his knees and on his neck,” said Seokjin, “my mom always said that’s the best place to put cold things if you’re trying to cool down a body.”

“That’s smart, try and get some under the joints of his ears too if he’s lop eared,” said Namjoon.

“Namjoon, I don’t know what that means,” said Seokjin setting the phone to be on speaker and setting it on the ground.

“Floppy ears not stand up straight ears,” elaborated Namjoon.

“Oh, yeah. They’re huge, they touch his elbows,” said Seokjin and Namjoon made a surprised noise.

“English Lop I’d guess,” he said, “they have some of the biggest lop ears. Definitely get the joints under them cooled down, it’ll hold a lot of heat because of the fur.”

“I’ll get more ice packs,” said Seokjin jumping back to his feet and hurrying to gather two more and get them adjusted under the boy’s ears.

“He’s wearing jeans and a tank top though both are really thin. Would it help if I got the jeans off of him? Jeans hold heat, right?”

“Yes. Wait. No. Tae’s shaking his head at me. Okay. No, keep him fully dressed,” said Namjoon.

“I thought Taehyung wasn’t a student? Is he studying hybrid medicine too?” asked Seokjin crouching down and carefully picking the boy’s ankles up to start to lift them.

“No. Tae’s saying that once he does wake up he might panic if he’s undressed in anyway,” said Namjoon. “So leave him in all the clothes as long as he’s not wearing a jacket or anything.”

“He’s not,” said Seokjin.

“Collar?” asked Namjoon.

“Nothing,” said Seokjin looking at the boy’s neck for the first time. And then wincing. “Fuck, I think someone tried to choke him though. He’s got handprints bruised onto his neck.”

“Shit,” muttered Namjoon. “I mean, that’s not too surprising, but still. Are his wrists okay?” Seokjin glanced at his wrists, they looked a little red but no visible bruising.

“I think so,” he said, “they look red but I don’t see bruises or anything. They’re tiny though. He’s so tiny. Like I know most bunny hybrids are small, but this is ridiculous. He looks like he’s starving.”

“He probably is,” said Namjoon. “Are you lifting his legs?”

“Yes,” said Seokjin. “Nothing.”

“Is he breathing alright?” asked Namjoon.

“Yeah,” said Seokjin.

“Do you have anything strong smelling? Like peppermints?”

“Yeah, I’ve got peppermint,” said Seokjin setting the boy’s legs back down and going to grab the mints from the office. “What do I do with them?”

“Hold them under his nose and lift his legs again,” said Namjoon. “We’re getting in the uber right now and will be there in a few minutes.” Seokjin set the mints under the boy’s nose trying to balance them on his face and then hurried back to lift his legs up again. The mints fell off so he grabbed a box of cups and pulled it over and set the boy’s feet up on it so they would stay elevated and then grabbed the peppermints and held them under his nose.

“Are you okay?” asked Namjoon.

“I’m fine, just had to figure out how to do both. I’ve got his legs propped up on a box so I can hold the mints,” said Seokjin.

“Anything?” asked Namjoon.

“No, though he isn’t as flushed,” said Seokjin, “so the ice must be helping.” The boy’s eyes fluttered behind his eyelids again and Seokjin set the phone back on the ground and brushed his hair out of his face and up off his forehead.

“Would an ice pack or a rag on his forehead help?” he asked.

“Maybe,” said Namjoon and Seokjin reached for the extra ice pack he had brought with him when he’d grabbed the two for his ears and carefully set it against the boy’s forehead. The boy groaned but his eyes didn’t open.

“Oh! I think he’s waking up,” said Seokjin. “Are you close?”

“We’re getting out of the car now, come let us in,” said Namjoon and Seokjin carefully put the mints aside and ran back through the building to the front door to let Namjoon in. The boy with him was tall though shorter than both of them and Seokjin suddenly realized why it was he’d never met Taehyung and why Taehyung wasn’t a student and why he lived with Namjoon. Taehyung had big floppy dog ears and a tail and a thin collar buckled around his neck. No wonder Namjoon had so many opinions, he had personal experience.

“He’s in the kitchen,” said Seokjin hurrying to lead the way back, “don’t touch anything that looks like it might be delicate or expensive.” Taehyung jumped slightly looking at him worriedly.

“I won’t,” he said quickly and a little nervously. 

“Oh no, I was talking to Namjoon. You’re probably fine. He however is an absolute disaster,” said Seokjin shaking his head. “Hi by the way, I’m guessing you’re Taehyung? I’ve heard a lot about you and would love to get to talk to you but I’d really prefer we make sure that the teenager in my kitchen doesn’t die of heat stroke first.” Taehyung’s ears perked up slightly and his tail wagged. He pushed open the door and Namjoon crouched by the boy’s head immediately starting to check his pulse and giving instructions to both Seokjin and Taehyung who hurried to help.

“Once we get him coherent we should really get him in a cold bath or a shower,” said Namjoon. “We have to get his body temperature down, it’s much too high.”

“Well, the freezer is right there,” said Seokjin gesturing to it.

“That seems unsafe so we’re not doing that,” said Namjoon, “I don’t know how that would affect him.”

“Besides that seems kind of inhumane?” asked Taehyung hesitantly.

“I mean, I thought so, but I was out of ideas,” said Seokjin shrugging. “And it’s the coldest place in the building.”

“What are you going to do with him once he’s okay?” asked Taehyung.

“We’ll drop him off at a shelter when they open,” said Namjoon nodding. “They can take him to a clinic and a real doctor will make sure he’s alright.”

“They won’t do that,” said Taehyung shaking his head. “Bunny hybrids are the most expensive for medical care because they’re one of the least expensive to buy and don’t work or keep house or anything. They can’t really earn their worth back and a shelter is not going to take a bunny to a clinic or the hospital and if they did the bunny would be euthanized. Best case scenario if you drop him off at a shelter, he’ll be alright and then be sold to a pervert to be used as a toy and starved the rest of his very short life, probably exactly what happened to get him here. Probably passed out from the choking and got abandoned on the street.” That was horrifying. Seokjin knew what people normally bought bunnies for, but they were also supposed to be good for people that needed pets for kids that just needed a fluffy cute thing they could play with and there were always show bunnies too. Though now that he was thinking about it he was pretty sure that there were probably specific breeds for show bunnies and he’d be willing to guess that this boy wasn’t one of them. And he didn’t really look like the common bunny either, so he’d probably been bred to be a pervert’s toy and to die young when he wasn’t cute enough anymore. Seokjin had never hated being a human being more than he did in that moment.

“Then what do you suggest, Tae?” asked Namjoon sounding exhausted. “Because it’s not like there are options here.”

“I’ll take him,” said Seokjin surprising himself. Namjoon squinted at him.

“Hyung, he’s not a cat,” said Namjoon, “he’ll be a mess. He’ll probably have a list of trauma the size of the Great Wall of China. Do you know what you’re saying?”

“You’re not taking home a goldfish or something. He’s a person,” said Taehyung quietly looking nervous to be saying that out loud. “And he’s going to be hurt and scared and you’re agreeing to take care of him and make decisions for him and basically be his parent until he can be independent.”

“Then that’s what I do,” said Seokjin firmly. “I’m not letting him die or get hurt just because he has bunny DNA too. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knowingly sent him off to all of that.”

“I was honestly expecting more of an argument to everything I just said,” said Taehyung surprised. The bunny’s eyes fluttered open and he whimpered in pain.

“Whoa, okay, deep breaths,” said Namjoon gently as the bunny started hyperventilating seeing he was in a strange place surrounded by people he didn’t know.

“You’re okay,” said Taehyung leaning forward so the boy could see his ears, “you’re okay. Joon-hyung’s a medical student. Seokjin-hyung found you outside. We’re trying to get you cooled down.”

“Seokjin-hyung and I are going to get you sitting up, kid, and I need you to try and drink some of this water, can you do that?” asked Namjoon already nodding at Seokjin and moving to carefully help the boy sit up. Seokjin helped quickly and moved to support the boy against his own torso when it became apparent that the boy couldn’t or wouldn’t hold his body up on his own.

“I really need you to try and drink the water,” said Namjoon gently.

“He’s scared,” muttered Taehyung, “here give it here, hyung. Hey, see, it’s okay.” He took a sip of the water before handing it back to Namjoon who looked a little horrified by the implications of that.

“Right, there’s nothing in it but water, I swear. Here I’ll drink it too,” said Namjoon taking a sip. “Can you try for me now?” The bunny nodded slightly, all the movement he could manage with his head at the moment and let it fall back limply against Seokjin’s shoulder. Seokjin carefully adjusted his ears so they hung down the front of his shoulders and weren’t getting twisted. Namjoon carefully cradled the back of his head and held the water bottle to his lips. The boy managed to drink almost all of it gulping at it greedily and managed to hold his own head up when Namjoon let go.

“Okay, we need to get your body temperature down,” said Namjoon. “Hyung, you’ve got a bath, right?”

“Yeah, upstairs,” said Seokjin.

“Okay, kid, we’re going to head upstairs and get you in some cold water. You don’t have to stay in it once you’re not so hot and you can keep your clothes on, but it’d be better if you didn’t because we need to get you cooled down as quickly as possible. Can you walk?” The bunny shook his head slightly still looking a little disoriented.

“I can carry him if you two want to get doors,” said Seokjin already shifting to be crouched and not sitting so he could pick the boy up. He did so easily the other two hurrying to their feet as well. Namjoon led the way, Taehyung following quickly.

“I can help, Seokjin-hyung,” said Taehyung worriedly.

“I’ve got him, don’t worry, Taehyung-ah,” said Seokjin nodding. Taehyung nodded and the three of them soon found themselves crammed into Seokjin’s small bathroom, Namjoon getting the water running.

“Can we take your clothes off you?” asked Taehyung and the bunny nodded once. Taehyung and Seokjin worked together to strip the sweat soaked clothes off the boy and support him at the same time. Seokjin had no idea that bunny hybrids had tails, but considering most other hybrids from animals with tails had them he really shouldn’t be. But the tiny little fluff that was sitting flush against the lowest part of the boy’s spine still surprised him.

“Never seen a bunny tail I’m guessing,” said Taehyung amused at Seokjin’s surprised noise.

“I mean, I should have assumed since cat hybrids and dog hybrids both have tails, but it never occurred to me that bunnies had tails too,” said Seokjin shrugging. “Ready, Namjoon-ah?”

“Yes,” said Namjoon moving to help them get the boy into the bathtub.

“You’ll have to go get him registered when places start to open, hyung,” said Taehyung.

“Right. Where?” asked Seokjin rubbing his forehead.

“Nearest shelter is Seoul Hybrid East I think,” said Namjoon frowning. “That’s probably the closest place to get him registered. Don’t let them put a collar on him, his neck’s messed up enough and they normally put collars on pretty tight. It’ll hurt.”

“Right,” said Seokjin nodding. 

“Hyung special ordered mine so it wasn’t itchy,” said Taehyung fingers coming up to play with his tags. “You’ll get him a name tag, right, hyung? Lots of owners don’t and most bunnies never have them. Lots of bunnies don’t have collars at all since they’re not outdoor hybrids.”

“He can pick his own nametag if he wants too,” said Seokjin nodding and Taehyung smiled.

“I like you,” he announced. “I mean. I knew you were okay since Namjoon-hyung talks about you so much. But I’m glad you’re so nice.”

“You talk about me?” asked Seokjin surprised.

“You do kind of leave an impression, hyung,” said Namjoon shrugging. “How’s that feel, kid?” The boy startled slightly and gave him wide scared eyes, not responding to the question.

“Okay, no talking then,” said Namjoon nodding. “That’s alright. Shit, they don’t teach you what to do with nonverbal patients.”

“You’re smart, hyung, you’ll figure it out,” said Taehyung nodding.

“We should find him clean clothes,” said Seokjin looking at the pile of clothes on the floor. “You’ll be okay if I leave for a minute?”

“Yep,” said Namjoon nodding. “Go find clothes.” Seokjin hurried out of the bathroom and into his bedroom to dig up light weight clothes he thought might fit the boy. Once he’d found everything he hurried back to the bathroom. Taehyung and Namjoon were trying to figure out how to communicate with the boy who wouldn’t speak to them still. The boy looked more coherent now but also more nervous. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach like he was trying to protect himself. He looked so young. There were bruises littered randomly across his torso and ones that looked like they might be fingers on his thighs. Seokjin wasn’t looking too close at that, he didn’t really want to think about what might have been done to the boy.

“I think his body temperature might be at a safe level now,” said Namjoon hesitantly.

“You think?” asked Seokjin, “Namjoon-ah, you’re about to graduate and you’re going to be doing this professionally, you sort of need to know.” Namjoon gave him a startled look.

“Well, we don’t exactly have medical supplies here, hyung,” he pointed out, “and I’m not willing to state anything with surety incase I’m wrong because of that. So, me saying I think is going to have to work this morning. And you’re going to need to make sure he really is okay later today. Go to an actual clinic and get someone who has the medical tools and the degree to make sure he’s alright. But I do think for now that he can get out of the water, he’s starting to shiver.” The water is slightly dirty now and Taehyung’s the one that notices.

“Can I use your shampoo, hyung?” he asks Seokjin who nods immediately and Taehyung reaches for it.

“I’m going to wash your hair and ears, okay?” he tells the boy. “It’s just me, you’re okay.” The boy nods slightly and doesn’t pull away from Taehyung though he does tense. Taehyung rubs the soap into his hair as gently and thoroughly as he can before starting on his ears. Once he has he carefully helps him lay back so he can rinse it out, being careful not to get the water into the boy’s face. He’s soaked when Taehyung gets him sitting up again.

“You want body wash too?” asked Seokjin gesturing to the bottle. The boy shakes his head immediately, eyes wide with fear.

“I think the water got most of it anyway,” said Taehyung nodding. “I was mostly worried about the fur. Fur holds dirt better than hair tends to and his ears are long and the fur’s delicate.”

“Okay, let’s get you up and dried off,” said Seokjin crouching down to help Taehyung get the boy out of the bathtub.

“Do you have a hairdryer, hyung?” asked Namjoon looking towards the cabinets.

“Yeah, in that drawer,” said Seokjin pointing to one of the drawers while Taehyung started carefully towel drying his hair.

“Wouldn’t it be better to let his hair air dry though?” asked Seokjin.

“No,” said Taehyung shaking his head. “Fur takes ages to dry and it’s annoying and since we don’t know anything about bunny fur, it’s better to use the dryer. Some kinds of fur is super delicate and you’ve gotta do multiple steps to make sure it stays nice and healthy.”

“I doubt bunny fur is very delicate,” said Namjoon frowning, “but Tae’s right, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Seokjin steps back to let Taehyung continue helping the boy dry off since when he tried to help the boy looked terrified and like he might start panicking again. Instead he helps Namjoon find the hair dryer and plug it in. It doesn’t take Taehyung long to get the boy into the clothes, though the shorts Seokjin had found need to be pulled as tight as possible and fall almost midway down his calves. The t-shirt isn’t much better hanging off his shoulders and falling nearly to his knees.

“Hyung, these clothes are way too big,” said Taehyung. Seokjin grimaced.

“They’re the smallest clothes I own,” he said shaking his head. “We’ll get clothes on the way back from the shelter.”

“Oh, oh, calm down, it’s okay,” said Taehyung as the bunny startled hyperventilating again and shaking his head quickly. “Seokjin-hyung’s going to register you as his. He’s not taking you to the shelter, it’s just the closest place to register strays as having owners. You’re okay. You’re safe. I promise. If you’re not you’re legally allowed to punch me.” The bunny nods slightly eyes still wide with fear but he’s not panicking as much now.

“Can Seokjin-hyung dry your hair?” asked Taehyung stepping back slightly. The boy hesitated before nodding and burying his fingers into the material of the shirt, eyes darting between Taehyung and the two humans nervously.

“Namjoon-ah, can you do me a favor and go let Changmin in? He’ll need to get everything ready for opening today and run it by himself,” said Seokjin, “should be fine. We’re not normally very busy.” Namjoon nodded and headed back down the stairs.

“You need to hire more people, hyung,” said Taehyung absently.

“I’m working on it,” said Seokjin nodding. “But I haven’t really figured out how to do interviews yet, so we’re having a lot of turnover because of it.” The boy is tense and sits perfectly still the whole time Seokjin dries his hair and his ears.

“You probably need to eat something,” said Seokjin turning the hair dryer off and putting it away. The bunny doesn’t respond just tracks his movement with his eyes.

“For sure,” said Taehyung nodding. “Owners don’t really feed bunnies. They’re advertised as not really needing to eat much so most people only give them scraps or less.”

“Aish, no wonder you’re so tiny,” said Seokjin frowning and looking at the boy. “I bet once we have you eating healthy you’ll shoot up in height too.”

“He might,” said Taehyung shrugging. “Or he might not. A lot of the time bunnies and cats are short.”

“Hey, Namjoon-ah said you might be an English Lop hybrid, is that right?” asked Seokjin curious and the boy nodded slightly to confirm it.

“Do you know how old you are?” asked Taehyung and the boy nodded again.

“I was born in 95 are you younger than me?” asked Taehyung making sure to phrase it as a yes or no question. The boy nodded.

“Let’s move this to the kitchen so I can make food,” said Seokjin and Taehyung helped the boy stand upright and the two of them followed him towards the kitchen.

“Were you born in 96?” asked Taehyung and the boy shook his head.

“97?” he tried earning a nod this time.

“Oh, he’s a baby, hyung,” said Taehyung brightly. “You’re such a cutie.” The bunny’s cheeks flushed bright red and he looked at Taehyung wide eyed.

“Oh, I probably shouldn’t have said that, huh?” asked Taehyung worried he’d made the younger boy uncomfortable. “Just like flick me if I say something that makes you uncomfortable.” The boy nodded slightly and Taehyung smiled.

“So it’s okay to say you’re cute?” he asked and the boy nodded.

“Aw, you’re just shy then?” he asked. The boy turned redder and Taehyung laughed.

“Here you can sit him down at the table, Taehyung-ah,” said Seokjin pointing at the table. “You should still be able to see both me and the front door from there.” Taehyung nodded eyes darting over to the door.

“Joon-hyung’s taking a while,” he muttered.

“Want to go check on him?” asked Seokjin and Taehyung nodded.

“Are you okay if I leave you with Seokjin-hyung alone?” asked Taehyung and the boy hesitated before nodding.

“Do you have any allergies?” asked Seokjin and the boy shook his head.

“Okay,” said Seokjin nodding. “I’ll just heat something fast up and we can eat and then go get you registered, sound okay?” The boy nodded.

“Are you okay to live here with me?” asked Seokjin and the boy nodded again.

“You don’t have anyone looking for you?” He got a negative response that time and Seokjin relaxed slightly. He didn’t want to have to figure out what to do if the boy did have someone that would want him back. He didn’t want him to go back to whatever had caused him to pass out outside of the store.

“Alright,” said Seokjin nodding. “The extra room doesn’t have a dresser so we’ll have to pick up one of those. And there’s only a pullout couch in it right now so we’ll pick out a bed for you too, but I bet we can do that online if you’re not wanting to be out shopping.” He heats up the food quickly and sets the plate down in front of the boy before grabbing his own and sitting next to him.

“Namjoon-ah says Taehyung-ah doesn’t like being around strangers. I don’t know if that’s a hybrid thing or a Taehyung thing. Do you like being outside?” The boy shook his head quickly looking a little scared.

“Okay, then we’ll make sure there’s lots of stuff you can do here,” said Seokjin nodding. “Do you know how to read?” The boy shook his head.

“No writing either then, I’m guessing,” said Seokjin frowning and the boy nodded in agreement.

“Well, there’s a new bookstore across the street so we can pick up some beginner books and I can try to teach you,” said Seokjin nodding. The boy perked up slightly looking surprised but nodded quickly. Taehyung and Namjoon both came back up the stairs then and the boy tensed slightly watching as Namjoon moved closer.

“Still feeling okay?” he asked and the boy nodded. “Okay, that’s good. Hyung, me and Tae need to head home. I’ve got class in forty minutes. You’ll call if you need anything right?”

“Yes, yes, go to class,” said Seokjin shooing him towards the door. “It was lovely to meet you, Taehyung-ah, you should come by sometime when we can actually get to know each other.” Taehyung agreed readily and Namjoon laughed.

“Okay, goodbye, I’ll see you tonight,” said Namjoon nodding. Taehyung waved cheerfully.

“Bye, hyung! Bye, um bunny?” he said wrinkling his face when he realized he didn’t have anything to call the younger boy. “We’ll need to fix that. Okay, bye! Have fun. Seokjin-hyung is nice, you’ll be okay.” Namjoon waited for him by the door until Taehyung joined him and the two disappeared back down the stairs. Seokjin rubbed his forehead and glanced at the clock.

“I need to make sure that the shop is ready to open and we can head out after, okay?” he asked. The boy nodded.

“We need to think of something to call you at least temporarily to put it on the ID. We can always change it later,” said Seokjin and the boy nodded again.

Changmin is a little too excited that Seokjin apparently got himself a bunny hybrid and cheerfully lists a bunch of names and none of them are the one that Seokjin suggests to the boy.

“What do you think about Jungkook?” he asks. And the boy nods quickly, smiling slightly. The first time he’s done anything other than look terrified. Seokjin nods.

“Okay, and we can always change it later,” he said nodding. “Ready to go? I called an uber so we don’t have to walk.” The boy nodded again and quickly stood up. Seokjin grabs his keys and his wallet and leads the way down the stairs. The café is empty at this time of the morning and Changmin is in the kitchen so Seokjin doesn’t have to worry about the boy being uncomfortable until they get to the uber and climb in. Seokjin tells the driver where to go and the driver looks at him funny and then eyes Jungkook like he wants to eat him alive the whole way there. Seokjin immediately hates it and can tell Jungkook is uncomfortable since he curls into himself.

“He can stay in the car while you head in,” said the man driving.

“No thanks,” said Seokjin opening the door, “ready, Jungkook-ah?” Jungkook nodded quickly and slid out of the car ahead of him.

“Shouldn’t take long and we’ll be right back,” said Seokjin to the driver who nodded though he looked disappointed. Jungkook stepped closer to Seokjin once he had joined him on the sidewalk.

“Want to hold on to me? It’s okay if you do,” said Seokjin nodding and Jungkook reached for him immediately wrapping thin fingers tightly around Seokjin’s wrist.

“Alright, remember you’re not staying, okay, Kook-ah? You’re coming home with me and you don’t have to worry,” said Seokjin and Jungkook nodded silently eyes looking impossibly bigger. He looked so young and Seokjin’s heart hurt. He deserved to be loved and cherished and he’d been tossed about like he was a worthless toy. He forced himself to focus and led the way into the shelter. The young puppies in the front immediately and excitedly tried to get his attention while Jungkook stepped closer to him, tightening his grip, and keeping his eyes on the floor. Seokjin found the front desk quickly and went right to it, pretending there was nothing else going on around him.

“Hello, sir, what can I do for you today? A return? Or are we dropping off?” asked the woman smiling pleasantly at him looking Jungkook up and down. “I believe we have some younger bunnies in the back if you’re looking for an exchange.” Jungkook’s grip tightened.

“No, I’m here to pay the registration fees and get an ID,” said Seokjin shaking his head. “Jungkook-ah is a stray and he’s going home with me.” The puppies fall quiet at that, immediately shifting to be playing with each other and no longer trying to get his attention. That surprised Seokjin. They were quite a bit younger looking and it was interesting that they immediately stopped trying to get his attention the minute they realized he was taking Jungkook home and not dropping him off. He wasn’t sure if it meant they thought he was a lost cause or if they didn’t want to rip a hybrid that desperately needed safety away from it.

“You’re sure, sir? Bunnies aren’t exactly low maintenance. They do cost the least though,” said the girl. “And it’s probably a little too old for new training.”

“I’m positive. Just give me the forms for him,” said Seokjin frowning. The girl shrugged and pulled out the paperwork. Seokjin filled in everything he knew and signed.

“No birthdate?” she asked looking at the paper and Seokjin nodded.

“Just the year,” he said.

“We’ll put the first of January then. It can be changed at a later date,” she said. “Kim Jungkook?” Seokjin nodded.

“Alright, I’ll print the ID and the tag and we can get the collar on him. You’ll need to put your card in the chip reader,” she instructed and Seokjin did. She stepped away for a few minutes and came back with a black ID booklet that she handed over as well as the ownership papers. She unclipped the thick leather collar she was holding and started around the counter.

“Give it to me, please,” said Seokjin intercepting her quickly. The woman handed it over without complaint and Seokjin buckled it back up and handed it over to Jungkook who looked down at it surprised and Seokjin suddenly wondered if maybe he’d never had one.

“He does need to wear it,” said the woman raising an eyebrow.

“Do you not see his neck? We have instructions from a doctor not to put a collar on him until it’s healed,” said Seokjin frowning at her. “Is this everything?”

“Yeah, you’re good to go. If you have questions or it’s not what you’re looking for just bring him back here and we’ll get it handled,” said the girl. Seokjin didn’t dignify that with a response and led the way out of the store.

“You okay, Jungkook-ah?” he asked once they were out the door and Jungkook nodded looking at him a little admiring and Seokjin wasn’t at all sure what he had done to earn that. He wished he could ask but he couldn’t phrase that as a yes or no question so he just led the way back to the uber.

“We need to stop to get you clothes that actually fit,” said Seokjin nodding. “And then we can head home and get you settled in. I’ll have to be at work by noon so they’re not overwhelmed, but barring a catastrophe they should be fine until then. Sound okay?” Jungkook nodded and then held the collar out to Seokjin.

“You need to hold onto that Kook-ah,” said Seokjin frowning. Jungkook shook his head and unbuckled it and held it out to Seokjin.

“Hon, I’m not going to put it on you, your neck,” said Seokjin shaking his head.

“If he’s going into the store with you he needs the collar,” said the driver as he started driving, “course, he’s always welcome to stay here with me.” Seokjin picked up the collar. It was heavy and stiff and felt itchy.

“We’re getting you a different one,” said Seokjin frowning. Jungkook just leaned forward slightly and stretched his neck out for Seokjin to put the collar on. He was more than a little shocked that Jungkook apparently trusted him enough to let him put the collar on him already. At least he hoped it was trust and not something sinister that Seokjin just didn’t know. He carefully buckled it around Jungkook’s neck making sure to leave it extremely loose. Jungkook winced slightly as he sat up and it rubbed against the bruises.

“I think that bitch at the shelter gave us a kid collar,” muttered Seokjin. The collar even on the loosest loop sat flush against Jungkook’s skin. Jungkook just shifted closer to him slightly as the driver glanced back in the mirror.

“Looks fine, it’s probably loose even,” he said and Seokjin shot him a look.

“You can keep your opinions off of my hybrid, yeah?” he suggested. “It’s too small for him and he’s still growing.” Jungkook looked a little bewildered and hesitantly reached for him again Seokjin met him halfway taking his hand and Jungkook squeezed it tightly.

“Thanks for the ride,” said Seokjin politely as he stepped out of the car making sure Jungkook climbed out after him without any problems. “We’ll be awhile so we’ll call another driver when we leave.” The driver rolled his eyes but pulled away and Seokjin led the way into the store, Jungkook clinging to his hand tightly. When they walked back out of the store Jungkook was still holding tightly to his hand, but now Seokjin was also carrying a bunch of bags and Jungkook was wearing jeans and boots that fit him, a much looser collar, and a hoodie that was several sizes too big for him but that he had picked out. It was the only thing he had picked without Seokjin giving him two options to choose from. Seokjin wasn’t about to say no to anything he asked for. The new uber driver was younger and seemed completely uninterested in the two of them and dropped them off without any problems. Seokjin helped Jungkook get settled in and showed him how to work the TV and told him to come find him downstairs if he needed him. Jungkook had nodded and watched him leave and Seokjin heard the TV turn on before he started down the stairs.

He hadn’t come back upstairs until much later that night, though he had briefly run up right around four to make sure Jungkook ate something. Jungkook had looked intimidated by the fact that he could apparently eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but that had been the extent of the conversation. Jungkook was curled up on the chair fast asleep, his giant hoodie practically swallowing him and his large ears hanging off the armrest. He looked much younger like this and Seokjin paused to look him over trying to make sure he looked alright in his sleep. He pushed a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He should make food and get Jungkook to eat a little more and then they needed to sleep. They’d both had an early day and Seokjin would have an early one tomorrow too. He hung his keys up on the key ring and made sure he had locked the door before trudging into the kitchen to pull out some food. Once he had he moved back over to the chair and carefully brushed Jungkook’s hair out of his eyes.

“Jungkook-ah,” he said, “hey, Jungkook-ah, you need to eat something and then you can go back to sleep.” Jungkook’s eyes blinked open slowly and he tensed slightly and sat up quickly, looking around a little frantically.

“Hi, sleepy head,” said Seokjin smiling at him. “I made some food. Think you can eat some before going back to sleep?” Jungkook nodded quickly and Seokjin stood up to lead the way into the kitchen. They ate quickly and Seokjin rambled on about the customers that had come in mostly to fill the silence. Jungkook ate everything Seokjin had put on the plate for him and Seokjin figured that was a good sign. Once everything had been cleaned up Seokjin made sure Jungkook was all set up to sleep on the pullout couch in his room and Jungkook waved slightly when Seokjin bid him a goodnight. The next morning saw Namjoon and Taehyung showing up to check in on them and cause general chaos. Namjoon complained about Seokjin not taking Jungkook to see a doctor but relented when Seokjin explained that not only were the clinics expensive, but that he didn’t really trust the hybrid hospital and that Jungkook had freaked out about it when Seokjin suggested it. Which had ultimately led to Namjoon ranting about hybrid rights and the lack of decent medical care and what all he would do with his own clinic when he got one. Jungkook still didn’t say anything though he brightened slightly when he saw Taehyung and stuck close to his side the rest of the time the two of them were over. Seokjin was pretty sure this was going to be a long road, but hopefully Jungkook would be okay.


	2. It is unsurprisingly still 1 am here and i still don't know how to title :)))))) there are hugs, people are happy and grow oh and Got7 shows up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***this chapter is also now edited!!! :)

Several weeks of Jungkook living with him had resulted in the boy’s own internal clock starting to wake up whenever Seokjin did. Which meant Jungkook often followed him downstairs to watch as he started the food for the day. It also meant that Seokjin had discovered that Jungkook truly did not like being on his own in the apartment but he also didn’t like strangers so he had all but attached himself to Seokjin’s side throughout the day. Changmin had been very disappointed when he realized Jungkook didn’t want anything to do with him or anyone that wasn’t Seokjin, but had left him alone when Seokjin asked him to. Jungkook’s neck started to heal too and he had insisted on wearing the collar whenever he went downstairs while the café was open, always unbuckling the new collar that he and Seokjin had picked out together and pushing it into Seokjin’s hands until he would put it on him. Seokjin didn’t really like putting the collar on him. He didn’t like that it felt like he was controlling Jungkook but Jungkook always wanted Seokjin to do it. And he knew that Jungkook could do it himself because if Seokjin headed downstairs before Jungkook woke up he would show up with the collar already on. After the first time that he had put it on himself and Seokjin had worried over whether or not he had gotten it too tight, Jungkook had started greeting him on those mornings by tugging on his sleeve and slipping two of his own fingers under the collar so Seokjin could see that he could breathe fine.

Namjoon graduated and it was the first day off Seokjin had taken since he took over the café. It was also the first time Jungkook went anywhere with him since the first day. Namjoon was excited to see them both and even more excited that Taehyung was there, since Seokjin had stopped by to pick him up on the way to the ceremony, so he could attend while Namjoon graduated, since hybrids had to have a human with them to be there. A few weeks later Namjoon and Taehyung show up in the middle of the day both looking very excited and Namjoon waves a set of keys excitedly.

“Hyung!” he called hurrying over to the counter, Taehyung on his heels.

“Joon-ah? Everything okay?” asked Seokjin, Jungkook reached for him and hooked his fingers through Seokjin’s belt loop nervously watching the older two approach the counter.

“I did it!” said Namjoon. “We bought a building for the clinic!”

“That’s awesome!” said Seokjin excitedly. “That’s cause for celebration. Free cookies for both of you.”

“Ask where it is, hyung,” said Taehyung bouncing excitedly, causing his ears to swing wildly.

“Where’s the clinic?” asked Seokjin smiling indulgently at Taehyung who pointed out the door across the street to the three story building that had been for sale since the last shop had gone out about a year ago.

“There!” said Taehyung excitedly.

“We’re going to be neighbors,” said Namjoon grinning brightly. “It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait. We move in this weekend. And the apartment above it is big enough for both of us and we won’t be crammed in together like sardines.”

“I get my own room!” said Taehyung clapping his hands together. “You’ll help me pick stuff out, right, Jungkookie?” Jungkook nodded smiling at the older boy.

“That’s awesome!” said Seokjin, “you’ll be by so much more often! You’re going to be so much closer. This is fantastic. What are you calling it? Kim Hybrid Clinic?”

“We were thinking Bangtan,” said Namjoon glancing at Taehyung who nodded.

“Bulletproof,” said Taehyung cheerfully. “It sounds badass.” Jungkook giggled slightly causing the older three to look at him surprised and he flushed bright pink and ducked his head stepping closer and burying his face into the back of Seokjin’s shoulder.

“Don’t hide, Jungkookie, you’re cute,” complained Taehyung which only made Jungkook push his face further into Seokjin’s shoulder, making Seokjin chuckle and pat his head. He’d gotten used to working with the younger boy clinging to him in the past couple weeks.

“We’re going to the bookstore across the street after this if you want to come, Jungkook-ah,” said Namjoon nodding. “Seokjin-hyung said something about you wanting to learn to read?” Jungkook nodded eyes widening slightly and he chewed on his lip but didn’t respond.

“Do you want to go with them?” asked Seokjin, “it would only be across the street and Namjoon-ah would bring you right back if you started freaking out.” Jungkook’s nose scrunched up for a moment before he nodded.

“Really?” asked Taehyung surprised. “Awesome! It’ll be fun!”

“That works out well actually, I have someone coming in for an interview soon anyway,” said Seokjin nodding. “You two want anything to drink first?” Both younger boys ordered and paid and Changmin made the drinks.

“Ready, Kookie?” asked Taehyung once both drinks were made and cookies had been handed out. Jungkook nodded and pressed into Seokjin’s side firmly for a moment before darting away and around the counter. He hadn’t really reached a point where he liked being hugged or held but he liked the physical proximity and had taken to greeting Seokjin when he came upstairs from closing the shop by pressing against his side for a moment as if he was hugging him without his arms, so Seokjin took this to be Jungkook telling him goodbye without saying it.

“Bye, Jungkook-ah, have fun,” said Seokjin. Jungkook nodded and moved closer to Taehyung, hesitantly reaching for his hand. Taehyung laced his fingers through Jungkook’s and tugged him towards the door.

“Come on, Joonie-hyung!” he called back over his shoulder. Namjoon laughed and hurried after the two of them. Seokjin watched them go and took a deep breath. He needed to get the employment situation sorted out so that he had time to make sure Jungkook was okay and happy and not lonely. And also a break every once in awhile would be nice.

“You’re stressed, hyung,” said Changmin frowning. “Should you really have adopted him? It’s only seemed to cause you more stress.”

“Yes, I should have and I don’t regret it. The stress isn’t his fault and if you even think about insinuating that it is in front of him I will fire you faster than you have ever been fired in your life, Changmin,” said Seokjin scowling at him. Changmin had said a handful of off hand things over the past few weeks that were grating on Seokjin’s nerves more and more every time and he was at the end of his rope. Changmin rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Looks like the next interview is here,” he said gesturing to the entrance where a nervous looking kid stepped inside.

Jungkook felt a little bit better about being away from Seokjin just by having Taehyung right there with him. He knew Taehyung would make sure he was okay and would get him back to Seokjin. He wasn’t as sure about Namjoon, because he was still pretty iffy on the trusting humans thing. Seokjin didn’t count and Jungkook wasn’t really sure why. Maybe because he fed him and insisted on making sure Jungkook was okay and let Jungkook hold onto him when he was nervous or scared and he generally felt safe. Jungkook had never felt safe before Seokjin had found him. He didn’t know it was possible. Taehyung seemed to be the same about Namjoon though so Namjoon was probably okay and Seokjin really liked Namjoon, more than he liked his employees which was good because Jungkook didn’t like his employees. Namjoon pushed the door to the bookstore open and they stepped inside.

“Welcome!” called a man from the back of the store. He looked young, probably Namjoon’s age. He was leaned against his counter and was flipping through a thick book on hybrids. Taehyung spotted something in the corner near the counter and pulled Jungkook over.

“Look, Jungkook-ah, it’s a tag machine,” said Taehyung, “we could get you one with your name on it. I know Seokjin-hyung hasn’t been able to find one that would match your collar.” Jungkook stepped closer to Taehyung’s side and looked at the machine curiously.

“You want one, Kook?” asked Namjoon joining them. “It’s okay if you want to wait for hyung, I’ll make sure to mention it to him when we go back.” Jungkook hesitated before stepping closer to the machine and looking at the different tags. There was a cute one that was heart shaped. It matched the one that Taehyung had attached to his collar. He pointed at it and tugged on Taehyung’s hand.

“We’d match,” said Taehyung excitedly. “Please, hyung?” Jungkook nodded quickly trying to give Namjoon his biggest eyes, doing his best to match Taehyung’s puppy eyes he was giving him. Namjoon caved instantly.

“Okay, okay, stop,” he complained laughing. “Here let me get the right information into it. Why don’t you two look around. Do you want hyung’s address on it too, Jungkook-ah?” Jungkook nodded immediately and Namjoon turned to the machine to get it started. Taehyung pulled Jungkook over to the counter.

“Hey, sir, do you have beginner books?” he asked, “Jungkookie’s trying to learn to read.”

“Yeah,” said the man looking up, “they’re near the front. Here, I’ll show you.” He led the way over and pointed out a couple of good ones for starting.

“Do you mind if I ask what kind of dog you are?” asked the man.

“Nope,” said Taehyung shrugging. “I’m a Treeing Walker Coonhound hybrid. Jungkook-ah is an English Lop.”

“Can I ask a really stupid question?” asked the man.

“Go for it,” said Taehyung nodding.

“My uncle back home is insisting on buying me a Samoyed hybrid and I don’t know where to start,” said the man rubbing the back of his neck. “Like. All the information I can find online sounds like bullshit and the books aren’t really helping all that much. I can’t figure out what information is true and what’s not. Like, is he going to need exercise and rules and stuff? Or do I not do any of that? And what about fur and ears? I can’t find anything on fur and ears that makes any kind of sense. And how do I figure out the collar situation? All the collars I’ve seen look like they probably hurt and are itchy.”

“Well, Samoyed’s have really fluffy fur so ear and fur care is going to be super important,” said Taehyung nodding. “Basically as far as the rules and stuff goes, it’ll depend on him. Like I like not having rules and a routine but I know Jungkook-ah likes his routine.” Jungkook nodded quickly. He liked knowing exactly where Seokjin was and what their day would be like. It felt safer.

“And for collars a lot of them do suck. Mine’s super light weight, Namjoon-hyung had to order it online,” said Taehyung tugging at his slightly. “And it’s not itchy at all. Jungkook’s is a lot heavier than mine, but he likes the weight of it, right?” Jungkook nodded again and lifted his own, turning it slightly so the man could see the softer fabric stitched into the side that went against his neck. The man’s eyes widened at the bruising on Jungkook’s neck.

“The collar didn’t do that, right?” he asked horrified. Jungkook shook his head.

“No, Jungkookie’s only lived with Seokjin-hyung for about a month. His neck looks way better than it did. Someone choked him before Seokjin-hyung found him,” said Taehyung shaking his head. “Collars can leave marks though. Metal collars and shock collars both normally leave scars. Collars with bad material can cause negative skin reactions too, like itchiness and rashes. And if you have a collar on too tight that will bruise and it limits breathing. And the collars with handles on them are for assholes who like to pull their hybrids around by their necks, which just chokes them and causes pain. Some collars that look like they could be restrictive really aren’t though. Like I wouldn’t like Jungkook’s because it’s more of a heavy duty collar, but it’ll also last longer than mine will.” Jungkook pushed his fingers between the collar and his neck to demonstrate that he was fine.

“Right, Seokjin-hyung always has him double check that he can breathe every morning,” said Taehyung nodding. “Because it could hurt him if he wears it too tight, but he likes it so that’s the one he has.” Jungkook nodded and tugged on Taehyung’s hand slightly and then wrapped his own fingers around his wrist to demonstrate how thin he was.

“Right, that too. Samoyeds are often a show hybrid or for really rich people that want to show off a cute fluffy dog,” said Taehyung nodding. “Coonhounds like me are work hybrids, so we don’t normally have weight issues, but the others do. Jungkookie’s tiny, see?” He lifted his hand so that the man could see his wrist.

“You’ll probably need to make sure they eat enough,” said Taehyung and Jungkook nodded, glad that Taehyung had understood what he was trying to tell him.

“If you get a shelter hybrid you’ll probably need to be careful about things that scare them. Most hybrids that have been in shelters have been pretty abused,” said Taehyung nodding. “And breeders too are normally pretty abusive, but it’s not as bad as it can be for hybrids coming out of shelters.” Namjoon joined them then and held the tag out to Jungkook who looked at it excitedly and carefully picked it up off of Namjoon’s palm.

“It’ll look so cool, Jungkook-ah,” said Taehyung cheerfully. “Want me to put it on your collar for you?” Jungkook shook his head. He’d get Seokjin to do it later.

“Wanting to do it yourself?” He shook his head again.

“You’re gonna get Seokjin-hyung to do it, right?” asked Namjoon and Jungkook nodded smiling.

“I’m sure he’ll be very excited,” said Namjoon nodding. “Find any books?” Taehyung held up the two he’d picked up that the owner had suggested.

“Yeah, and he had questions about hybrids,” said Taehyung, “his uncle’s apparently insisting on gifting him a Samoyed.”

“Oh?” asked Namjoon, “well, there’s at least two other hybrids on the street now so if you need help you can always ask me or Tae and I’m sure Jungkook-ah will do his best to help.”

“Jungkookie doesn’t talk yet,” said Taehyung nodding. “He’s working on it.” Jungkook nodded quickly. He was working on it. He didn’t like being too scared to talk to them. Taehyung was nice and fun and Jungkook really wanted to talk to Seokjin. If anyone deserved to be trusted to be spoken to it was him. Jungkook had only lived with him for a month but he loved him.

“You don’t talk? Is that normal?” asked the man surprised.

“Uh, yes?” said Taehyung hesitantly. “It’d be a little unusual for a dog hybrid, but for a bunny hybrid. Not really? I’d not be very surprised about a cat hybrid not talking either.”

“Different hybrids have different trauma and everyone’s experience is vastly different,” said Namjoon nodding. “I’m Kim Namjoon, this is Kim Taehyung, we’re opening a hybrid clinic a few doors down so we’ll be your neighbors.”

“Oh! That’s great,” said the man nodding. “I’m Wang Jackson, owner of Got Books. Say, I’ve got a friend who’s looking for a new clinic to work at. He’s a nurse and hates working at the hospital.”

“Oh that’s great I need a nurse,” said Namjoon nodding. “If he’s interested just send him our way. This is Kim Jungkook too. He’s with Kim Seokjin that owns the place across the street with the coffee.”

“The place that doesn’t have a name yet,” said Jackson nodding. “Nice to meet you, Jungkook-ah. Why doesn’t he just name it Seokjin’s or something?”

“Not very catchy,” said Taehyung cocking his head. “Maybe something with Jin? Or Jin’s? Jin’s Coffee.” Jungkook giggled. It wasn’t a bad idea.

“You didn’t call Seokjin-ssi, Jungkook-ssi’s owner? Is that not required? Like I won’t have to use that term because I really don’t like it,” said Jackson making a face at the thought.

“Well, in the eyes of the law you’re the owner. So like if something happened to Tae where we had to go the hospital or the police or something he has to make sure they know I’m his owner and vice versa, but that’s really the only time we use it. Most people do though. Seokjin-hyung doesn’t and I don’t know how Jungkook-ah feels about it. And no one really wants to make that decision for him, you know? So basically he’s Seokjin-hyung’s and Seokjin-hyung is his.”

“Sounds confusing. What about you two?” asked Jackson curious.

“Namjoon-hyung’s my brother,” said Taehyung nodding. “And I’m his. I’m not really young enough to be his kid.”

“And that was okay? Because everything I’ve found says that if you do something like that it leaves hybrids confused,” said Jackson.

“That’s bullshit,” said Taehyung nodding. “Hybrids have the same mental capacity as you do, Jackson-ssi. Me and Jungkook-ah both do. Almost everything like that is trained behavior and purposefully keeping hybrids stuck and subservient. Jungkook-ah can’t read or write because no one allowed him to learn, not because he doesn’t have the ability.” Jungkook looked at Taehyung surprised. That almost sounded like Taehyung was saying Jungkook was smart. Which made no sense, because bunnies weren’t smart and Jungkook was a bunny. But Taehyung sounded like he believed Jungkook was as smart as he was and that he was as smart as Namjoon who was very smart. He tugged on Taehyung’s hand a couple times to get his attention.

“Huh? What’s wrong, Jungkookie?” asked Taehyung and Jungkook made a confused face at him followed by a confused noise.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking, Kook,” said Taehyung hesitantly and a little sadly. Jungkook’s shoulders slumped.

“Are you asking Tae if he meant it?” asked Namjoon, “that you’re the same as me and Tae and Jackson-ssi?” Jungkook nodded feeling his ears twitch slightly excited Namjoon had figured it out. Taehyung gasped excitedly.

“Oh my god, your ears can move,” he whispered.

“Aish, Tae, focus,” said Namjoon fondly. “Yeah, Jungkook-ah, Taehyungie’s right. You’re as smart as he is and as smart as Jackson-ssi and just as smart as me. You’re very intelligent and very curious and honestly the fact that you’ve figured out how to communicate so well without being verbal is extremely telling. I don’t think I would be able to get my point across half as well as you do without talking.” He smiled fondly and a little sadly when Jungkook looked startled by that but the smile that lit up the youngest’s face certainly helped.

“Have you considered that maybe he can’t talk?” asked Jackson. “I don’t know about hybrids, but I know that a lot of kids that grow up in extremely neglectful and abusive homes where they’re not allowed to talk don’t develop the ability to speak and need therapy for it. If what you’re saying is right and I’m assuming it is because it makes the most sense, then surely it makes sense that psychology and reaction to trauma is similar too?” Taehyung and Namjoon both look between Jackson and Jungkook.

“Hadn’t thought about that,” said Namjoon nodding.

“It’s possible. I mean I’ve never met a hybrid that had been trained not to speak at all from early enough not to be able to. Because mostly owners want their hybrids to be able to speak,” said Taehyung, “but it is possible.”

“Jungkook-ah, can you talk?” asked Namjoon and Jungkook looked up from where he had gotten distracted by looking at the new tag he was holding on to.

“Like you have the ability to right? I’m not asking you to talk if you don’t want to, but it isn’t because you’re unable to, right?” asked Namjoon and Jungkook cocked his head and wrinkled his nose. He wiggled his head from side to side slightly trying to decide if what was going on applied.

“You could in the past, right?” asked Taehyung and Jungkook nodded. “But now you can’t even if you want to?” Jungkook nodded again.

“So it’s a mental thing,” said Namjoon nodding. “Because I’m pretty sure we’d have noticed if something was wrong with your vocal chords or tongue.” Jungkook shrugged. It was probably a mental thing. Talking hurt in the past so mostly he was scared it would hurt again. He wanted to try though. But only with Seokjin because if anyone would be worth the pain it would be him. He was the best thing that had ever happened to Jungkook. Sure, he kind of scared him, but he hadn’t hurt him and hadn’t yelled at him and went out of his way to love him and be careful with him and make sure he was okay and comfortable. He just wasn’t ready to try yet. Soon.

“Speaking of Seokjin-hyung though, we should probably pay and head back if you two are done,” said Namjoon, “you know he worries if he hasn’t seen Jungkook-ah in a while.” Jungkook nodded. He didn’t like being too far away from Seokjin either. So he tugged Taehyung towards the register by the hand and Taehyung went willingly the two humans following behind them.

“I take it you’re ready to go home,” said Taehyung laughing. “Enough adventure for one day?” Jungkook nodded quickly and Jackson stepped behind the counter to start ringing them up. Namjoon paid and insisted on giving Jackson his phone number and Jackson promised to be by the café soon and that when his uncle inevitably dropped a hybrid off on him that Bangtan would be his first stop so long as they were open for business. Jungkook was excited about the tag and ended up pulling Taehyung across the street, Namjoon jogging to keep up. Seokjin was back behind the counter again and perked up when they stepped through the doors. Jungkook didn’t know if that meant the interview hadn’t shown up or if it had gone bad. It had probably gone bad.

“Jungkook-ah, you’re back,” said Seokjin smiling widely and Jungkook felt warm. Seokjin smiling at him felt the same as sitting on the couch and eating cookies warm out of the oven with him. Jungkook loved that feeling. He held the tag up excitedly, letting go of Taehyung to hurry behind the counter and to Seokjin who ruffled his hair fondly. Jungkook shoved the tag in his face excitedly trying to get him to notice it.

“You got a nametag! Oh, Kook-ah, did Namjoonie put our address on it?” asked Seokjin smiling and Jungkook nodded excitedly. He wanted the address on it. That way if anything ever happened he could get home. He pressed the tag into Seokjin’s hand and tugged his collar out slightly.

“You want me to attach it?” he asked and Jungkook nodded.

“Me and Tae both offered and he insisted on waiting for you, hyung,” said Namjoon smiling. “The owner of the bookstore is nice. His name’s Jackson, he said he’ll be by and he’s got a lot of questions about hybrids but he didn’t have any problems listening either.”

“Oh, that’s good,” said Seokjin nodding as he focused on attaching the tag to the collar. “There you go, Jungkookie.” Jungkook beamed and fiddled with the tags now hanging from his collar and stepped closer to Seokjin so he was pressed into his side. Seokjin ruffled his hair again and was careful not to put his arm around Jungkook so he didn’t feel stuck.

“Look, now we match,” said Taehyung holding up his own nametag so Seokjin could see it was the same shape. Seokjin laughed and looked at Jungkook.

“Is that why you said no to every tag I suggested? You wanted one like Taehyung-ah’s?” asked Seokjin and Jungkook nodded happily.

“That’s adorable. Don’t worry you’re my favorite too, Jungkookie,” said Taehyung excitedly. Jungkook giggled but shook his head quickly and pushed himself more firmly against Seokjin.

“Oh boy, I think you just got rejected, Tae,” said Namjoon chuckling and Taehyung proceeded to act wounded and betrayed for approximately an entire minute before agreeing with Jungkook.

“Don’t worry. I’d pick Seokjin-hyung too. Solely for the food,” said Taehyung nodding which caused Namjoon to yelp in annoyance and flick Taehyung’s shoulder making Taehyung laugh.

“I’m supposed to be your favorite,” complained Namjoon.

“Nope, sorry. The microwave meals and takeout does not compare at all,” said Taehyung shrugging. “Seokjin-hyung has won my heart. I’d move in with him but I’m pretty sure Jungkook’s claimed him and you’re not that bad.”

“Oh I see how it is. I’ve been abandoned,” said Namjoon dramatically and Taehyung laughed and reached over to pull him into a tight hug moving so he was practically hanging off of Namjoon’s back.

“Don’t worry, I still love you, hyungie, even if you can’t cook for shit,” said Taehyung and Namjoon laughed. Jungkook hoped he could be that confident someday. He probably couldn’t. Taehyung was so confident and loud and cool and Jungkook wanted to be that kind of a hybrid. Maybe someday. Taehyung had lived with Namjoon for a while and Jungkook knew he wasn’t as okay as he acted like he was. He could see it sometimes. In the way that he didn’t like Namjoon being out of his sight for too long if he wasn’t supposed to be. In the way that Taehyung hated being in crowds of people he didn’t know, especially if he wasn’t right next to Namjoon. He’d been okay at the graduation but Jungkook suspected it was because Seokjin was right there and Taehyung had been worried that if he freaked out Jungkook would freak out, which would probably be right. Taehyung would jump a little more than normal if something startled him and he definitely had moments where he would look at Namjoon for confirmation that something was allowed and he was okay. But the older boy was a lot stronger and more confident than Jungkook was and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and tell off assholes and Jungkook hoped someday he’d be that strong. 

Jackson ended up becoming a regular and at one point drug in a boy who turned out to be Jungkook’s age who was much to skinny and tired looking and Seokjin had immediately declared that he would take co-guardianship with Jackson of BamBam who was apparently an Idol trainee under JYP. BamBam hadn’t complained and Jungkook had liked him immediately. He was loud and liked cuddling and would sit with Jungkook and talk nonstop and taught him how to play video games and he would sing for Jungkook sometimes. He seemed to have no problem understanding Jungkook and Jungkook loved getting to see BamBam. He was the only human other than Seokjin that Jungkook was okay being completely alone with. Namjoon and Jackson were only okay if Seokjin was there or if Taehyung was there. BamBam worked too hard and didn’t get nearly enough sleep and he was so so excited when he got confirmation for debut. Jungkook had hugged him that night and BamBam had squealed like Jungkook had told him he was President of all South Korea. Hugging Seokjin and Taehyung had been easy after that. He hadn’t even meant to hug BamBam, he had just been so excited for his friend that it had overwhelmed him and he was hugging him. BamBam was a lot busier for awhile after that and Jungkook had made a point to pull Seokjin over to the calendar and point at the date of Bambam’s debut every morning until Seokjin had caved and declared they would be closed that day so the two of them could go support him. Jungkook had jumped up and down and squeaked slightly as he did and Seokjin had looked so amused and happy that Jungkook was happy that Jungkook didn’t even have it in him to be embarrassed that he had almost talked and chickened out resulting in the squeaking noise instead. BamBam’s debut ended up going better than anyone had anticipated and his popularity sky rocketed. Namjoon hired Jackson’s friend Mark who was a nurse and Bangtan officially opened and did pretty well considering they were the only clinic in the neighborhood. Jackson’s uncle did drop off a Samoyed hybrid on him, and he had respected that Jackson had told him if he did the hybrid had to be older than Jungkook at least. Youngjae was nice. Weird and definitely not sure how he fit in with Jackson, since Jackson was nothing like he had been told, but he was very nice and got along with everyone right away. And he was so soft. Jungkook hadn’t even been hesitant to cuddle with him because his ears were just too soft to resist. It helped that he was good at ear scratches too.

It had been almost five months that Jungkook had lived with Seokjin and he felt happier and safer than he ever had in his life. Seokjin however was struggling to keep the café afloat. The last of his baristas had quit on him and everyone he had hired had ended up being fired almost immediately because they were awful to Jungkook and the other hybrids. He needed help and couldn’t do everything himself and because of it the café’s hours were suffering and Seokjin was exhausted. He had closed the café early tonight after the last round of disastrous interviews and was currently looking at the numbers in despair. Jungkook’s soft footsteps came down the stairs and the younger boy knocked on the door frame of the office to let Seokjin know he was there. He still wore the oversized hoodie he had first picked out more often than anything else but he filled it out a little better now. It was still much too big on him and he looked incredibly soft and tiny in it, but he didn’t look anywhere near as sick. He had enough body fat to look healthy now and Seokjin couldn’t help but feel a little better every time he noticed because it meant at least Jungkook was doing okay.

“Hi, kiddo,” said Seokjin smiling up at him as Jungkook stepped into the office. “I closed early today. I can’t really run it by myself every day of the week. I’ll be up in a minute. Do you want to pick a show and we can eat dinner?” Jungkook shook his head and moved closer to Seokjin looking at the book. His nose scrunched at the numbers. While Jungkook’s reading had improved a lot, Seokjin and Namjoon had both been surprised to discover that Jungkook knew numbers and was surprisingly good at math.

“Just looking at the books, Kookie,” said Seokjin nodding. “I’ve got lots more interviews scheduled for the week, but I’m not sure how I’m going to manage to do them and run the café.”

“Teach me,” said Jungkook and Seokjin’s head snapped back up to look at him startled. Jungkook hadn’t ever talked to him.

“What?” he asked registering the words after a moment and deciding Jungkook probably didn’t want a big deal made out of this.

“Teach me, hyung. I’ll run the café, you interview,” said Jungkook nodding. “Legally I’m yours so I can help.”

“You want to work for me?” asked Seokjin baffled. “But you don’t like strangers, Kook, and that’s all this really is and I won’t be able to keep people from being awful to you.”

“Not anymore than you already do,” said Jungkook shrugging. “And I have to get over the strangers thing at some point, right. Like I had to get over the talking thing and the touching thing. I think I can do it.”

“I don’t want you to do something that’s going to hurt you, Jungkookie,” said Seokjin reaching to pull Jungkook closer. Jungkook happily climbed into his lap, causing the chair to groan under both their weight. He laid his head onto Seokjin’s shoulder.

“I want to do this,” insisted Jungkook. “You’ve given me everything, hyung, please let me help you.” Seokjin hesitated.

“We can try,” he said, “the minute you decide it’s too much or you don’t like it, you’ll tell me, right? And we’ll get you out of there.” Jungkook nodded.

“I will,” said Jungkook and Seokjin smiled.

“You’ve grown I think,” he said off handedly. “Okay, up, bun. I’ve gotta get the paperwork for you to sign.” Jungkook got back to his feet but looked at Seokjin confused.

“You own me, hyung,” he said, “You don’t have to have paperwork for me other than that.”

“Oh yes I do,” insisted Seokjin. “You’re being employed here and I won’t have it be any other way. Do you want to read the standards of pay and breaks and vacation days or do you want me to tell you?”

“I want to read them,” said Jungkook perking up. “I’ll ask.” Seokjin nodded and started pulling out the right papers. Jungkook read through everything carefully asking when he reached words he didn’t know and then signed where Seokjin told him too.

“We really need a name,” muttered Seokjin looking at the header of the forms.

“Eat Jin,” said Jungkook and Seokjin laughed.

“I don’t hate it,” he said nodding. “Eat Jin it is.”

“Can we go upstairs and eat and watch tv now, hyung? I’m hungry and I’m tired and we have an early day tomorrow,” said Jungkook.

“Alright,” agreed Seokjin nodding. “Let’s go.” Jungkook cheered and hurried to corral Seokjin up the stairs to their apartment. He had come a long way in five months and Seokjin was so proud of him and so glad he was happy. He was still painfully shy around strangers but he was doing so much better and he was so comfortable with Seokjin and Seokjin was glad that Jungkook at least was at a place where he wasn’t afraid of him and knew he could ask Seokjin for anything and he’d do his best to help.

“Let’s celebrate, what do you want to eat?” asked Seokjin.

“Banana milk,” said Jungkook cheerfully and Seokjin laughed.

“That wasn’t even what I wanted to say either,” pouted Jungkook pulling Seokjin into the apartment and closing the door behind him. “I had a plan. I’ve been working up to it for months.”

“Yeah? What was your plan, Jungkookie?” asked Seokjin smiling and heading towards the kitchen.

“I was going to hug you goodnight,” said Jungkook nodding. “Or good morning. I hadn’t decided. But I was going to hug you.”

“Yeah? I wouldn’t say no to a hug,” said Seokjin and Jungkook stuck his tongue out at him.

“I liked how it happened,” said Seokjin, “I’m just glad you’re feeling comfortable enough to talk at home.” Jungkook smiled brightly at him and stepped over to hug him tightly, hooking his chin over Seokjin’s shoulder. Seokjin smiled and brought his arms up to hold him back. He’d never take for granted getting to hug Jungkook. Not after it had taken so long to earn that hug in the first place.

“Saranghae, hyung,” said Jungkook softly and Seokjin felt the sudden urge to cry and also like he might die.

“I love you too, Jungkookie,” said Seokjin softly holding him tighter. Jungkook giggled into his ear and Seokjin closed his eyes enjoying the moment. He startled back suddenly.

“Oh!” he said. “You can tell me your real name now! We can get your ID’s changed in the morning.” Jungkook gave him a startled look and then giggled.

“Doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I like being a Kim.”

“Okay, but your first name, Jungkook-ah,” insisted Seokjin.

“My breeder named me Jeon Jeongguk,” said Jungkook, “so it doesn’t matter much. It’s the same name and I like your version better.” Seokjin couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Did I tell you it wasn’t one anyone suggested? I came up with it on my own? Apparently I’m a hell of a guesser,” said Seokjin and Jungkook laughed at that.

“Maybe it was just meant to be,” he suggested.

“Can’t imagine it wasn’t. How else would you have ended up passing out behind my café? You could have ended up anywhere but it was here with me,” said Seokjin nodding.

“Thanks for finding me, hyung,” said Jungkook smiling. “Can we have banana milk now? I need to grow taller so I’m taller than Taehyung-hyung. Namjoon-hyung thinks I can still grow some, remember?”

“Okay, okay. I’ll get the banana milk. Go pick a show,” said Seokjin agreeing and shooing Jungkook out of the kitchen. Jungkook hurried to the living room cheerfully and Seokjin took a moment to take a few deep breaths. He hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t really expected they would ever get to this point. He couldn’t imagine life without Jungkook now even though he was turning out to be a little shit when he felt safe, but Seokjin wouldn’t have it any other way. He couldn’t wait to see where they went from here. He had an interview tomorrow that hopefully would go well. The boy was young. Younger than Jungkook, but he expressed an interest in running his own bakery so maybe Choi Soobin would be a good fit for the café. It might make things easier being able to judge people’s reactions to Jungkook immediately too. Seokjin couldn’t help but feel like maybe everything was finally starting to come together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i refuse to apologize for the chapter titles, they express my personality which is general chaos and exhaustion 
> 
> classes have started so i'm not sure how much time i'll be having so things will be posted as they get finished. i've got ideas for nct and stray kids and probably more seventeen and txt too so we'll see what gets done first and it'll be posted when it is. 
> 
> Animals for Hybrids because i spent way too much time on this:  
> Jungkook - English Lop Bunny  
> Taehyung - Treeing Walker Coonhound Dog  
> Youngjae - Samoyed Dog 
> 
> for the length of this fic there's a surprisingly few amount of people in it 
> 
> thank you for reading!!!! i love you all! and to everyone worried about my roommate situation thank you things have been okay so far so i'm hopeful that it'll all work out :D


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